Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 48,535 complaints - component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Incident date: Mar 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while reversing out of his garage, the vehicle made an abnormal sound, and while the transmission was shifted into reverse (R), the vehicle rapidly accelerated, crashing into a tree. The contact stated the vehicle made the abnormal sound again and rapidly accelerated forward, crashing into a fence. The contact sustained injuries to hi... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 3, 2023
Without warning (no lamps or prior problems), the vehicle abruptly downshifted at high speed. Attempting to temporarily alleviate the problem, the vehicle was placed in manual mode. While traveling at 60+MPH in manual on a busy freeway, the speedometer began fluctuating wildly and the vehicle downshifted again. Upon decelerating, the vehicle violently shifted into first gear with loss of contro... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2023
The contact owned a 2021 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving into a parking spot, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle abruptly accelerated crashing into a pole. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The air bags deployed as needed. There was smoke coming from the engine. The contact and his wife were injured and received medical attenti... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Feb 23, 2023
I spent $2400 on this car to have the dual clutch is replaced in the transmission it was supposed to be under warranty. The dealership charged me for it. The transmission on this car gets stuck causes it to go in reverse and blocks it heats up and is undrivable. It has been parked on the side of my house for one year now I have been in a rental car which Ford told me to get and they would refund m... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
The transmission in my 2019 Ford Expedition is slipping and having drastic gear changes. Other people with the 10R80 transmission are having similar issues. This car is unsafe to drive.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-350. The contact stated that the vehicle was idling rough. Additionally, the vehicle had smoke coming from the tailpipe and the contact smelled an abnormal odor. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V644000 (Back Over Prevention) and 22V880000 (Power Train) howe... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Versa The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed the vehicle started to have issues with changing from one gear to another. The contact stated that he had just left the dealer from getting his transmission serviced and then the transmission failed. There was no warning prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and diagnosed as the transmis... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Buick Enclave. The contact stated that while idling or at a complete stop, the vehicle lunged forward upon acceleration. The contact then stated that while shifted to park, the vehicle inadvertently started. The contact also stated that she heard a screeching sound in the wheels while shifting in the first gear, and intermittently in second and third gear. Additionally, the... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2023
2014 CADILLAC SRX. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAILED. IT WOULDNT MOVE LET ALONE HARD SHIFT. ALSO, THE CONSUMER WAS DISPLEASED WITH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO READ AND LISTEN TO COMPLAINTS.
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2012) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Feb 13, 2023
Incident date: Feb 1, 2023
On 02/08/23 I had the ZA3 - transmission dipstick, and transmission vent recall completed at Lovegreen Chrysler in Kirksville, MO. Nobody at RAM, or the dealership told me that after completion of the recall the new “dipstick” would be a substandard part, that it isn’t a functional dipstick at all. I am now unable to check the Automatic Transmission Fluid on my $90,000 RAM 2500 Limited truck... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
2020 GMC TERRAIN. CONSUMER STATED THAT THEIR VEHICLE STARTED PULLING AND DRAGGING WHILE DRIVING.
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
2017 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER STATED THAT AFTER THE SAFETY RECALL WAS PERFORMED THEY BEGAN TO HAVE ISSUES WITH THEIR TRANSMISSION.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2023
2015 FORD FIESTA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE IS A RECALL ON THE TRANSMISSION, THREE MONTHS WAITING PERIOD TO RECEIVE THE TRANSMISSION AND ADDITIONAL CHARGES .
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
The transmission in the car is not functioning properly. Shifting is not happening correctly and there is slippage. The shift between gears is significantly impacting the car while in motion. The lurch between gears skips the car ahead. Further, Ford Dealers are so backlogged with transmission issues that they are refusing to diagnose and service vehicles due to lack of technicians and parts.
Incident date: Dec 26, 2022
Car will not go in reverse transmission went out and needs tcm repair, so to shift fork b circuit going out causing damage to transmission
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
1) Automatic transmission; Yes 2) Transmission defect causes the vehicle to unexpectedly lose power, increasing the chance vehicles traveling behind could collide with the vehicle (powertrain occasionally does not initially respond to throttle input) 3) Yes 4) The vehicle has been inspected by a Ford dealership; unknown with regard to inspection by others (the vehicle has been serviced by a Ford ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 28, 2023
I was driving home from work and the transmission just stopped shifting completely and I almost was Tboned in the street because of this my husband had to push the car out of the road so i contacted the ford dealer here because there was a recall on my transmission for that very thing and they said that they dont have to fix it unless i pay for it because it has 160,000 miles on it nevermind the f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 27, 2023
2016 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT HE WAS UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THE DEFECTIVE PART WOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE RECALL AND FEELS THE BILL IS A LITTLE EXCESSIVE.
Incident date: Jan 26, 2023
Lost all forward gear. As show in the picture attached of the valve body the number 1 valve body check ball pointed at with the yellow arrow is significantly smaller the the rest of the check balls. This causes the vehical to lose all forward gears and potentialy putting you harms way. This come whithout warning and no check engine light. I run a fleet of about 60 of these vans and it has hap... Read more
MERCEDES-BENZ
SPRINTER 2500
(2018) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jan 24, 2023
Incident date: Jan 24, 2023
2019 CHEVROLET SILVERADO TRAIL BOSS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE CONSUMER STATED IN ADDITION TO THE TRANSMISSION ISSUES, HE ALSO WANTS TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE UNNECESSARY REPLACEMENT OF ROTORS, THE DIAGNOSTIC OF THE SES LIGHT DUE TO MISCOMMUNICATION ABOUT THE ACTIVE GRILL SHUTTER, AS WELL AS THE ROTATION OF THE VEHCLE TIRES.
MERCEDES-BENZ
E350
(2012) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Jan 23, 2023
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
2019 SUBARU ASCENT. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 21V-955. THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE AND WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALER TO WAIT FOR THE 2ND RECALL NOTICE. WHILE DRIVING 50MPH ON HIGHWAY, THE CAR JOLTED FORWARD, CONSUMER HIT HER HEAD AND WAS KNOCKED UNCONCIOUS.
Crash
Incident date: Jan 18, 2023
Was driving home came to 4 way stop when I tried to accelerate the car wouldn’t shift out 1 gear. Car was towed to Steve Rogers ford 8/5/22. Where their vehicle still sits waiting from a TCM ( transmission control module). No one will provide a loaner or rental which the part is on infamous backorder
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Ford Explorer Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the electronic "lift gate ajar" warning was activated; however, the liftgate was not open. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who adjusted the liftgate striker, and the failure was remedied; however, the failure reoccurred. Additionally, while driving at speeds between 5 - 20 MPH, the vehi... Read more
Incident date: Dec 13, 2022
2022 HYUNDAI SONATA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HYUNDAI FOR A RECALL BUT PARTS ARE ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER WITH NO ETA ON WHEN IT WILL BE AVAILABLE.
Incident date: Jan 11, 2023
2015 FORD EDGE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO THE DEFECTIVE FLEXPLATE. THE CONSUMER REPAIRED THE VEHICLE AT THE OWNERS EXPENSE BUT REQUESTING TO BE REIMBURSED FOR ALL REPAIRS AND ATTORNEY FEES.
Incident date: Jan 4, 2023
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving and attempting to merge onto the freeway at approximately 50-55 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact attempted to accelerate to approximately 70 -75 mph when the vehicle failed to accelerate. The transmission suddenly failed without any warning lights. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic who diagn... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2023
2018 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO HNTSA SAFETY RECALL 22V-413. THE CONSUMER STATED AN APPOINTMENT WAS MADE TO SERVICE A RECALL BUT INFORMED AFTER ARRIVING THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF PARTS AVAILABLE TO PERFORM THE RECALLS AND LONGER WAIT TIMES. ALSO, FORDS INABILITY TO ADEQUATELY SERVICE RECALLS IN A TIMELY MANNER.
Incident date: Jan 3, 2023
2021 HYUNDAI SANTA FE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO NHTSA SAFETY RECALL INVOLVING THE 8 SPEED DUAL CLUTCH TRANSMISSION.
FORD
C-MAX ENERGI
(2013) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Dec 30, 2022
Incident date: Jun 15, 2015
The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-Max Energi. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the transmission inadvertently downshifted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the rear bearings needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the rear bearings; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to Sheehy Ford Lincoln of Gaithersburg (901 N Frederick Ave, Ga... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while shifting the vehicle into the drive gear, the vehicle accelerated at high speed without any warning and drove into the wall of her garage causing front damage to the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to turn off. No one was injured. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer w... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 22, 2022
2016 FORD ESCAPE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION SHIFTER SAFETY RECALL.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Hyundai Tucson. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50-55 mph when the vehicle began smoking from the front end of the vehicle and shortly after began decelerating. The contact coasted to the side of the road where the vehicle stalled. The smoke settled as the vehicle decelerated and stalled. There were no warning. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Dec 16, 2022
2020 FORD F-350. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE GEARS WERE SLIPPING AND THE ENGINE WAS REVVING WITHOUT STEPPING ON THE GAS PEDAL.
TOYOTA
HIGHLANDER
(2015) - POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Dec 15, 2022
Incident date: Dec 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Highlander. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, the vehicle accelerated without any warning at high speed. The contact desperately depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not stop, causing the vehicle to drive into traffic and striking several vehicles causing front damage to the vehicle. The contact was unsure if anyone was injured. A police report ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Dec 14, 2022
When vehicle is placed in park while on, vehicle rolls forward . Put vehicle in park on the side of the road to answer a phone call. Was pulled up behind another vehicle and car rolled forward, and rear ended vehicle in front of me. The police were notified but no citation was given Another time vehicle was in park and running and ran over somebodies foot. very unacceptable
Crash
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to respond when shifted to reverse(R). The contact also stated that the transmission was slipping while driving and the vehicle failed to accelerate properly while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who replaced the transmission control module (TCM), but the failure persisted. ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the transmission downshifted from 7th to 6th gear, without warning. The contact pulled to the side of the road and shifted the vehicle into park(P) then back into drive(D). The contact stated that the transmission then selected 5th gear remained in 5th gear. The wrench warning light then illuminated. Th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
I was driving home from work in the freeway my 2013 Ford Fusion started shaking , jerking , stopping and not accelerating and all of the sudden came to a complete stop. I was almost hit by vehicles in the freeway and had to exit to get the vehicle tow due to faulty transmission issues with ecoboost. Ford was contacted and they try to tell me no open recalls for the transmission.
Incident date: Aug 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while parking the vehicle in a parking lot, the contact was unable to shift the vehicle into reverse(R). The contact stated that she then shifted the vehicle to drive(D) and was able to front-end park the vehicle and then shift to park(P). When the contact returned and started the vehicle, she could not shift the gear shifter into reverse(R). ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 2, 2022
While operating this vehicle on 12/2/2022 at freeway speeds (55-60 MPS) in morning rush hour traffic, the truck exhibited a sudden and immediate downshift of the transmission from 5th to 1st gear. This caused my back tires to lock up and begin to slide, which caused me to momentarily lose control of the vehicle. The issue appears to be loss of communication with the speed sensor that selects and m... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, a booming sound coming from the vehicle suddenly occurred. After stopping to inspect the vehicle, smoke was present coming from the engine compartment and flames were present from under the vehicle. The fire department was called to the scene but the flames were no longer present upon arrival. The vehicl... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
While driving at highway speed, the engine revved and it felt the car was no longer in gear and rapidly lost speed with traffic closing from behind. Shifting into neutral and back to drive caused the vehicle to jerk forward unexpectedly. Managed to steer to the side of the road and drive to a safer area on the highway. Forward movement was difficult and it appeared that the car would not stay in g... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2022
It won’t go to reverse occasionally after driving from 2 to 5 hours. When i switch to reverse, transmission won’t engage to reverse. Happened occasionally. I informed the service advisor during the service.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH and 55 MPH, the transmission inadvertently downshifted to first gear, causing the vehicle to abruptly slow down. The contact almost lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. There were no failure codes retrieved and no service was performed. The man... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
Transmission car will not shift gears stuck in 1st gear .. pulling code . P.O.7A5.(1/3) stored. Hood latch keeps saying open. Alarm keeps going off. Driver assist doesn't work.
Crash
Incident date: Nov 4, 2022
The transmission skips gears. It shifts from 1 to 3 and 3 to 5 skipping 2 and 4 gears and I took to dealership and they said it’s normal. When it shifts from 3 to 5 it’s jerks all the time and it’s not a smooth shift like every other shifts so there’s something wrong with transmission or software. Recently I had issues while driving on freeway around 70-75 mph the truck was on 10th gear an... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
This VIN needs to be updated clearly because I was experiencing transmission issues that were extremely unsafe causing the vehicle to jerk left and ride on the road as well as not go into reverse - I almost got killed by upcoming traffic!!!! Ford as well as the dealership took no accountability but stated there was a recall with the clutch system and it needed to be replaced as well as codes that ... Read more
Incident date: May 31, 2022
Lead frame issue. Shifted from 5th to 1st at 60 mph.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train), the mechanic at the dealer found additional failures to the transmission and stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 86... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on separate occasions while his granddaughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to shift into the intended gear. The contact stated that while he was driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle lunged forward. The contact then stated that he was able to turn off and restart the vehicle. The service transmission light i... Read more